Door straightening clamp



- May 2, 1961 s. HANCOCK DOOR STRAIGHTENING CLAMP Filed Aug. '7, 1959 Fig-5 Fig.2

1N VEN TOR.

- Sfan/ey Hancock MWWEMZQ United States Patent 1C6 2,982,321 DOORSTRAIGHTENING CLAMP Stanley Hancock, 2155 SW. 19th Terrace, Miami, Fla.

Filed Aug. 7, 195 9, Ser. No. 832,319 2 Claims. (Cl. 144-297 This invention: relates to clamps and more particularly to a'door'straightening clamp. adapted to be used for straightening warped doors An object of the invention is to provide a very simple and practical fdevice forperfonnin a very'diificult task, and that is straightening warped doors Numerous attempts have been made to straighten wa ped doorswith some degree of success." Carpenters and cabinet makers have resortedtonumerous tricks andpractices in enbecause it is made thin and configured in sucha way that one part of the clamp will fit on one side of the door and the other part is capable of passing through the door opening so that a screw may be engaged with the door jamb or with the door stop or some other part of the door casing depending on the needs of a particular straightening job. Even though the clamp is actually the structural device making possible the herein disclosed technique of straightening doors, the invention also entails the concept of using blocks which are properly placed to carry out the principles of the invention in a practical way wherein there is absolutely nothing directly fastened by fastening devices i.e. screws, bolts, etc. to the door or the door casing, jamb, stop, etc.

Although the word warp as applied to doors is used herein, it is to be understood that this word is to be interpreted broadly to include bowing, twisting or any other disfiguration of the door such as is ordinarily encountered with wooden doors.

These together with other objects and advantages which will become subsequently apparent reside in the details of construction and operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

Figure 1 is a fragmentary cross-section showing a part of a door casing, the clamp and one door with the clamp.

applied thereto.

Figure 2 is a perspective view of the clamp in accordance with the invention.

Figure 3 shows a sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of Figure 2 and on enlarged scale.

Figure 4 illustrates a door which is warped to provide a bow condition.

Figure 5 shows a door warped outwardly at the top and beingstraightened by the clamp.

Figure 6 is an elevational view showing a door warped in another way and being straightened by using two clamps.

opening from that occupied by door 16.

2,982,321 Patent ed May 2, 1961 Figure 7 shows an elevational view of a door which is warped in a direction to form a bow in the door and which is being straightened by the door straightening device in accordance with the invention.

In the accompanying drawings there is illustrated a door casing 10 which is of conventional construction, having molding 12 and a door stop 14. The door casing diagrammatically represents any type of door casing, whereas the door 16 in Figure 1 is a typical door in need of repair because it is warped. Clamp 18 is shown applied, in Figure 1, to the door and door casing in one possible orientation. Clamp 18 is made of a flat bar 20 having an intermediate section 22 and a pair of laterally projecting sections 24 and 26 at the ends thereof. Section 26 is covered with a cushion 28 on one face thereof and section 24 has a threaded aperture 30 therein receiving clamp screw 32. Section 24 is at right angles to section 22, butsection 26 forms an included acute angle with' section 20 and protrudes in a direction opposite to that of section 24, from section 22.

Screw 32 has a handle 34 at one end to facilitate turning, and a pad 36 at the end of the screw connected onto a swivel head 38. The swivel head has a ball joint 40 connecting it to screw 32 so that the swivel head and pad will seeks its proper deflection depending on the angularity of the surface which it engages.

As' shown in Figure 1, the bracket is placedbetween the door 16, in the door opening, and has section 26 contacting one face of the door, while the pad 36 contacts a part of the door casing on the opposite side of the door In using the clamp, it is tightened slightly i.e. finger tight, and is left for a brief period of time, for example a few hours or overnight. For severely warped doors several successive applications of the clamp are recommended.

In using clamp 18 there are a number of possibilities. Reference is first made to Figure 4. Door casinglfl has typical door 50 mounted on hinges. This door is warped in a direction so that the upper corner thereof bows outwardly. A pair of blocks (or a single block) 52 and 54 are placed on the door stop 14, and the non-warped part of the door is brought against them. Clamp 18 is engaged between the door casing and the warped part of the door and is tightened in place.

Figure 5 shows door 60 in casing 10, and the door 60 is warped rather severely with the upper end thereof twisted outwardly with reference to the lower nonhin-ged corner thereof. Consequently, block 54, which may be a two-by-four block of wood, is placed at the lower non-hinged corner, and clamp 18 applied at the upper twisted corner.

Figure 6 shows a door warped in two directions.

Both the upper and lower corners are bowed outwardly and therefore two clamps 18 are applied at the upper and lower non-hinged corners, and a single block 52 is placed somewhere along the length of the door, resting on the door stop. In the event that the door stop does not appear to be secured strongly enough to withstand the pressure, the block may be used flatways between the door and the door trim. A number of other possibilities will occur to carpenters after examination of my disclosure.

Figure 7 shows door which is quite severly bowed outwardly at the center with the upper and lower nonhinged corners in with reference to the center of the door. Therefore, the blocks 52 and 54 are located at the top and the bottom of the door 80 and bear against the door stop or some other part of the door casing adjacent thereto. Clamp 18 is located at the greatest part of the bow and tightened in place.

The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the surface being closer to said door casing and the leading edge being spaced horizontally from said casing, said method comprising the steps of exerting a reaction force against said inner surface of the door, exerting a propulsive force against a portion of said door casing in a direction toward the inner surface of said door, and exerting a second propulsive force against said outer surface of said door in a direction toward said door casing and at a place longitudinally spaced from the exertion of the reaction force.

2. In a door assembly including a door casing and a warped door having inner and outer surfaces and a leading edge, said door being hingedly connected to said casing, means for straightening the warped door comprising a manually attachable and detachable clamping device securely engaging said door casing and said door, said device including an intermediate section and a pair of end sections, said intermediate section being in the form of a linearly straight shank of a one piece construction, each end section being in the form of a bearing arm, one of said arms extending laterally from one side of said shank at substantially a right angle and having a threaded aperture therein, a screw shaft threadedly mounted in said aperture, a ball joint on one end of said screw shaft, a padded bearing head swivelly secured to said ball joint, said bearing head clampingly and adjustably engaging a portion of one side of said door casing, the other of said bearing arms extending laterally from the opposite side of said shank and forming with said shank an acute angle, a pad on said last-named arm, said last-named arm bearing against a selected portion of the outer surface of said door adjacent the leading edge thereof and exerting pressure against said portion in a direction toward said casing, and 'a block engaging a portion of said door casing and a portion of said door adjacent the leading edge of the latter, said shank extending firom saidone side of said casing through the door opening to a point beyond the other side of the door casing, said block being disposed at a point longitudinally spaced from said clamping device and forming a reaction against which the pressure exerted by the lastnamed arm of the clamping device operates in returning the door to its original position. v.

, References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Lando Oct. 16, 1951 sata 

